Leavingwt, I absolutely agree with your advice on this point. I had numerous ops to check out anti-witness books and letters from individuals who had left and never would look at them. I thought I was being a good Christian and "guarding my heart" as I had been taught/conditioned over the years. My guard was instantly up and avoided those who offered me the stuff like the plague. I think offering this book to your son-in-law Cawshun might just make him more resolved that he has the "truth."
happpyexjw
JoinedPosts by happpyexjw
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Have any of you just handed the book COC to a jw friend or relative?
by cawshun inif so, how did it go over, good or bad?
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happpyexjw
Started studying with Mom at age 9, baptized at age 12 out at age 40...that was in 1990
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Saw Danish Worlds Apart movie, have questions
by jws ini just watched the danish film "worlds apart" last night.
it's the story of a jw girl who falls in love with a "worldly" boy and all of the problems in her life.
and if anybody wants to see it, it's on the independent film channel on-demand.
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happpyexjw
My JW experience began in 1959 and I remember quite a few summer conventions that were held outdoors. I also recall being in the rain. You were expected to just suck it up and sit there.
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Question Box in new May KM...more spin of things to come
by TooBad TooSad ini have a scan of the question box but i can't figure out how to upload it so i. will just type it out.
i can guarantee you that only we who post on this web.
by jehovah's witnesses have different logos.. congregations or individuals should not use logos or names of the organization's legal.
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happpyexjw
Looks like paranoia to me too. The wts wants to call the shots and regularly gives "insight" on how the elders are to handle judicial matters (such as child abuse, fraud, etc.) but when the elders follow that advice and get sued the wts "entity" does not want to be held accountable. I wonder if elders have any clue how quick the organization will cut them loose and leave them hanging if they get sued or better yet, become the subject of a criminal investigation (for not reporting child abuse, for example)?
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Something I found useful
by outbackaussie inwhen i was mostly recovered from being a jw i found i was pretty angry and following from that, wanted to "save" my family that were still in.
i have a wonderful husband who is eminently logical and thoughtful, somewhat the opposite of me.
we used to have lengthy discussions about family and responsibility and suchlike.
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happpyexjw
I agree with Panzer and Hubert. When I decided to leave, I said nothing to my children (ages 16 and 21) in defense of my decision. I never encouraged them to leave. I simply moved on and started living. I got married again, celebrated holidays, enrolled in college, etc. It wasn't long before my kids joined me in freedom. We are all much happier now. It is very tempting to try and "convince" others we love to see the light, but in my opinion there is a risk involved if you do. They will feel defensive and the wts conditioning will cause them to think you are a threat to all they have been taught is life-saving. Patience is important. Good luck!
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Seattle's Brother Curtis Thompson sentenced to LIFE in PRISON for rapes
by Nathan Natas inhttp://www.examiner.com/x-257-seattle-crime-examiner~y2009m3d24-psychorapist-gets-life-in-prison.
psycho-rapist gets life in prison.
march 24, 3:05 pm.
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happpyexjw
Sad, but true
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wife asked me a good question about control mechanism of DFing.....
by oompa inwhen i told her i would never go back and meetings make me sick, i mentioned how df was a control mechanism meant to keep people in the org.......and that was when i told her i really dont want to be df'd.
i prob should have said it was used to keep people in line....actually should have never told her what i thought df was.......cause the conversation was already bad....... but she asked "why would the gb use it or view it as a "control mechanism?
" what would be their motive?...i have always been taught it is just the bibles way of keeping the cong.
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happpyexjw
LeavingWT you have said it well. I was never DF'd myself, but left in the manner I did so as not to experience it. No one in their right mind wants to experience such a harsh punishment. I personally witnessed the effects of this practice on a number of my own relatives. It is a brutal way to try and control others and can leave lasting emotional scars. Now that I am out, I wonder how I could have ever tolerated such terrible treatment of others. It makes me feel ashamed of myself.
The sad part of this situation for Oompa and others in similar situations is that it can be next to impossible to reach someone who is simply not ready to hear the real truth. All of us were carefully groomed to see such attempts by unbelievers to be further proof that they have the "truth." If someone writes you a letter urging you to leave, you are to immediately destroy it. You must never read or listen to anti-witness materials. Others are evil and out to destroy your faith in God and so on. This is a technique used to control the minds and actions of people who are afraid to lose what for many is the only way of life they know. The fear of losing that way of life, no matter how unfulfilling, is powerful.
Oompa, you mentioned in a different post that you are drinking way too much. With all kindness and love, I would ask you to think about how that has played into the way you have been interacting with your wife. If you lose control and attack, she will immediately go into defensive mode and that gets you nowhere. Try to avoid confrontations and try being kind and patient with her. She is afraid of losing you, her whole way of life and at this point is unable to hear what you are telling her. Give it a rest for a while and look for ways to let her know you love her. Subtlety is the way to go I think.
I wish you peace.
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Left the WT but why the contuinued faith in an invisible God?
by donny inok, now here's a question for the other side.
when you finally discovered enough information that resulted in your leaving the watchtower bible and tract society's organization, what convinced you that you just needed to replace it with a better more believanle version instead of questioning the whole concept of an invisible god?.
is it that you find the idea of no afterlife to hard to deal with?
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happpyexjw
Don,
I can really feel for your dilemna since I have experienced some of the same questions. I have taken little steps toward various churches and then backed away because frankly, I just see problems with all of them. Right now, I am just developing my own "spiritual self" and looking for answers to what this life is all about in the here and now. For me, that is working and has given me some inner peace. Ultimately, my only concern at this point is to live my life in a way that doesn't cause unnecessary hurt or pain for others and not do things that feel wrong or immoral to me. This kind of thinking makes JWs crazy as they think it is too "me" centered, but I refuse to let others tell me any more what is right or wrong since that is how I got sucked in to the wts in the first place. Take your time and good luck in your search.
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If its not the way. Which way is?
by maryacclaim ini read a lot of the topics and subjects in this forum, and can't help but to ask, if the witnesses ideas are not the way, then which way is?.
i was a witness for over 25 years and have been out of the organization for over 3 years now.
yet, i have a hard time seeing anyone else's way as the right way to go.
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happpyexjw
Mary, welcome to this forum. I just discovered it myself recently and have found the posters on here to be very interesting and helpful. Sometimes I agree with them and sometimes I don't. Most importantly though, I have found a place where I can freely express my questions, thoughts and opinions without being judged or attacked -- a freedom one does not have withing the wts.
I left the organization in 1990. I was not kicked out -- I simply went away. I have experienced many of the same questions you have described. I am still pondering many of the answers even now. I am wary of organized religion, not because of fear of the wts, but rather a reluctance to accept another organization's package of beliefs. There are many ideas that are a part of mainstream churches that I personally have difficulty with. I have learned to be patient with myself and try the best I can to live my life in a way that does no harm to others. I think we all have a sort of moral compass that tells us what is right and wrong, and that is what I do my best to follow these days.
I look for the spiritual in life and have learned to enjoy the feeling I get when I enter ancient churches for example, or bask in the majesty of nature. These things help me to realize that I am but a small part of a much greater universe. If there is a God I believe he will reach out to me at some point and help me to find him. In the meantime, I am learning to think for myself and enjoy all that this life has to offer, not forcing belief in anything someone tells me I must believe.
One thing I have learned from this forum is that each of us must find our own way to heal from our wts experience, some more quickly than others, but all in our own way. Here you will find support and ideas to help you along the way. I wish you peace and comfort Mary.
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I am so sick of hearing the word "soon."
by TooBad TooSad inthe use of the word "soon" at the kh is used so much by jw's.
that it has almost turned into a "soon" doctrine.. i counted the word soon 15 times at the meeting yesterday during the.
public talk and wt.
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happpyexjw
I remember being heartbroken when an older sister said my fiance and I would never marry -- the new system would be here before that happened. That was in 1965. When my first daughter was born I believed she would never start school -- that was in 1967. None of us went to college, saved for retirement or planned for the future in general because this system was ending soon. Many of those who were waiting for "soon" have long since died penniless and after many years of doing without while waiting for soon. Sad...